Tsai
A serpentine race found on the archipelagoes of San Larion. It has two arms and moves using its tail. Its scale is usually colored in colors of blue, brown or green, though other colors are not unheard of. Those born with ashen grey scales are considered to be lucky. They have the capability of secreting poison, usually on their fangs. 'History' Little information is known about the past. Most surviving records refer to an apocalyptic event which destroyed whatever civilization there was. The funding and patronage of archeological expeditions and schools has long been a source of prestige and influence in the Confederacy. While this has resulted in new and previously unknown parts of the past civilization to be rediscovered, much more is destroyed through the carelessness of archeologist more concerned with finding trinkets to present to their patrons rather than an actual desire to learn and preserve the past. What can be gleaned from surviving records, the era after the apocalypse was extremely chaotic with any semblance of order being destroyed. Many oral histories speak of this time as a sort of living hell, where war, famine and chaos was a daily thing. Tales of cannibalism whether family members eating each other alive or desecrating tombs to eat the corpse is a popular oral story. Regardless after an undetermined period, the current era dawned. Families merged into villages. Villages merged into towns. Towns became cities. Tribal identity replaced individual or even immediate family as the most important social identity. As usual the tribes competed with each other for many reasons from limited resources or prestige. This continued for some time until a relatively small tribe, the Jarat, facing tribal destruction from several plagues and military defeats underwent severe social changes to reverse this trend, namely the emancipation of tribal slaves who during this time period were almost always treated very brutally by their masters. All slaves were quickly conscripted and were deemed free after a decade of service. The emancipation movement quickly spread to neighboring tribes with numerous slaves escaping to Jarat territory further swelling their ranks. Attempts to stop emancipation movement failed and resulted in several bloody tribal wars which resulted in the defeated tribe being forced to adopt the new way. Eventually, the remaining unconquered tribes entered into an agreement with the Jarat and the tribes who willingly adopted the emancipation movement. The most important agreements were that while the slaves of unconquered tribes remained slaves. For the first time, laws were coded to protect slaves and making most of the usual abuse done to slaves illegal. The children of slaves were to be treated as if they were free and lastly, in the event of war, the confederacy reserves the right to conscripts all slaves in exchange for freedom after a decade of service. The Confederacy signalled more than just new ideology, it heralded the return to a semblance of political stability as full scale war between tribes was considered a thing of the past. Jockeying for votes in the new government became the past time. The newly emancipated slaves faced a new problem, namely the lack of economic freedom has resulted in the re-enslavement of many to survive. Signing on for several years of indentured slavery is a common practice. Recently, the Confederacy has managed to stabilize itself with a majority of its people whether Tsai or human being freemen, followed by slaves and then the nobility. Most of the freemen are now at a point where signing to become an indentured slave due to economic reasons is now a bad dream. 'Military' It has recently achieved the status of a professional army on par with its navy. Its navy has progressed further as an institution with even its highest ranks now open to humans. Relatively mild corruption has also resulted in small but significant number of unfit officers. Gunpower has recently been invented and the armed forces of the Confederacy are still in the midst of modernizing their forces. The officers and elite guard of the more influential nobles traditionally are armed with javelins and asymmetrical daggers. The daggers are coated with poison produced from the gland of its wielder. Human wielders use lighter javelins though this enables them to carry more and resort to making poison from the flora and fauna around them. This has been a source of derision from the more conservative nobles. Some however possess firearms considered to be precious heirlooms to be passed on between generations; Said firearms range from primitive autoguns to advanced laser and plasma based weapons, they are one of the few physical links to their forgotten past. Most users of these archaic but advanced weapons group themselves together to increase the firepower they can bring. Not to mention the power and influence that it brings. The Confederate doctrine on warfare usually center on the concept of raids whether as a means of acquiring slaves or to inflict harm on the enemy. Due to the archipelagic nature of the planet, the raids are usually carried out in fleets of ships. A fleet of ships each able to carry 30 to 50 people, this number increases for the larger ships. They are not averse to launching smaller raids to keep the enemy distracted from the true attack but this brings little glory or loot, something which they do mind. 'Allies' The recent practice of the Imperial colony to abduct entire tribes wholesale has allowed the Confederacy to position itself as their protector leading to a rapid expansion in power as they are aiding in organizing sister confederacies as buffer states while they digest their latest expansion. Category:Xenos